Hush
by mazeru
Summary: [DISCONTINUED] Manojume gets a new roommate?, everyone at the Academy start getting nuts ? And a black fluffy ball makes its appearance to live a long happy life ! Warning: shonenai/yaoi
1. A new roommate

1. A new roommate

„What the hell is that, drop-out?"

Juudai smiled at the previous Obelisk, bringing a ball of black fur closer to his face. "A kitty. Thought it's obvious, Manjoume-"

"Sanda!" Manjoume blurted almost automatically. "And take this thing away from me!"

"But I want you to take it! It's yours! I even named him Jun!"

Now this answer took a few seconds to be analyzed by the raven-haired boy's brain. But when it finally stroke him, his reaction was quite obvious. "WHAT!?!"

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" It was Misawa who appeared in the doorway. The tall Ra Yellow walked inside Manjoume's room as soon as he noticed what Juudai was holding. "Oh, a kitty! Hey, it looks just like you, Manjoume! Is it yours?" He asked, stroking the cats' head with delight and making it purr with appreciation.

Surprisingly, the thing about similarities between the ex-Obelisk and Juudai's find was rather quite true… at least as far as one could compare a human being and a cat.

'Jun' was mainly black, but it's face and front paws were creamy-white, while the back paws were dark brown. Besides, when you saw it in the right light, you could easily see several grey stripes in its back, and its tail's tip was also grey. The eyes were blue, though, but the kitty couldn't have more than three months, so their colour would probably change, and judging from the silvery lines on the irises, they would probably turn into the same colour as its involuntary almost-owner.

Manjoume, of course, noticed all of it – the cat was held barely a few inches apart from his face, so he could even count every dot on its pale-pink nose. But still, he was the Black Thunder. He had to stay cool. He wasn't going to admit so easily that some cat was similar to him, or that he was similar to a cat, for that matter. Especially for a 'found-by-Juudai' cat.

"Which part of it do you find similar to me, huh?" He asked coldly, giving the two other boys a daggering look.

"Well… almost every part of it, and as a whole as well. In a few months it'll probably even have your eyes." Misawa answered. "And besides… it's cute!"

Manjoume blinked in confusion, loosing his confidence for a moment as it has been replaced by a slight blush. "Kisama, are you trying to pull off a suggestion that I'm cute?"

"But you are at times!" Juudai pouted.

"Like when, you drop-out moron?" The raven-haired Osiris Red felt his face turn even redder.

"Like when you blush as you do now, for instance." The brunette answered immediately, and seemingly he was serious.

"WHAT!" Okay, now this was slipping out of control. No, more. It was crazy! And, unfortunately, the blood in Manjoume's face was rushing like crazy, as well. "What the hell is wrong with you all today!?" He almost yelled, waving his hand like crazy.

"Anyway, I still think that you should keep Jun-chan, Manjoume." Juudai ignored his friends question and just returned to the initial topic of their 'conversation'.

"No. Freaking. Way."

"I think you should keep it, too." Misawa joined in. "Well, unless you really don't want it… Then I'll take him with great pleasure." He continued, taking the kitty away from the brunette, who looked at his find with a puppy eyes as he lost a hold of its soft fur. "I'll take good care of Jun. I'll feed him, bathe him, and sleep with him, imagining that it's Manjoume…"

This statement caused the said boy's face turn completely pale for just to turn back crimson red a second later. Misawa either was a really good actor, or he was really serious abut what he said. Just the thought about the second option made Manjoume feel his insides twist with fear, nerves, or… _No, it must be fear or nerves, not the third option for sure! And Misawa simply appears to be a good actor. That's right, a good actor, nothing more. There's definitely nothing more to it! Still… I better not risk._

"Okay, okay, I'll take the stupid cat!"

"He's not stupid! And he has a name! It's Jun-chan!" Juudai said, standing up for the purring black ball that was now licking Misawa's face. The corner o his lips, to be precise.

_Oh my __God…_

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Okinata: So, well… yeah, that's one of my first Yu-Gi-Oh! DM GX fictions ever, I wrote it about a year ago, and just decided to refresh it… Still I'm not sure if it'll turn into something more than a one-shot, because I only have ideas on much later happenings, and stuff… Besides, my IB exams don't give me much time (tough it's only English and maths left – English is okay, but maths… . ) Anyways, read if you want, review if you read, and if having any ideas, just tell! 


	2. A day like everyday

2. A day like everyday

Manjoume blinked a few times, his stone-grey eyes slowly getting used to the orange light that started filling his dorm room. He sat up in the covers, letting out a big yawn as he stretched his body, took his earplugs out, and turned his head to look outside.

The sun was only about to rise, giving the sky a beautiful colour of ripe peaches. Everything seemed to be still asleep, only a few bird voices and a wind that moved trees gently disturbed the morning silence. Manjoume stared outside the window in sleepy amazement for a long moment until he finally shifted his still half-conscious gaze from the landscape outside to the alarm clock on his night table.

4:19 a.m.

He blinked a few tomes in confusion as if he didn't understand the numbers and letters on the clock's face. The picture slowly paved its way to his brain only to be welcomed there with a slight surprise. _What the hell am I doing being awake at this hour!?_ He barely managed to think that when he suddenly noticed a gentle but persistent at the same time pressure on his hand. He looked downwards and saw a ball of black fur that brushed against his skin in a playful manner. _What the… _He grabbed the purring kitty and brought it closer to his eyes, looking at him thoughtfully, as he slowly started remembering the previous day. _Oh…_

"You're the cat Juudai brought to me yesterday, right?" He asked, not quite sure why he was talking to an animal. "Jun-chan." He murmured touching the kitty's nose with his own and closing his eyes. It felt strangely pleasant to hold him like this…

A sleepy moan snapped him out of his thoughts and made him look around the room. He saw a chaotic mass of tousled chocolate-orange hair rested on a pair of arms laid on the edge of his bed. About two meters further a boy with black hair and a Ra Yellow uniform was sleeping on a chair by the door with his arms crossed on his chest.

Yuki Juudai and Misawa Daichi. They both decided to wait until Manjoume falls asleep just to get sure that he won't throw away Jun-chan as soon as he is left alone in his dorm room. Not that he ever planned doing so, but his reputation of an insensitive, selfish bastard made it quite probable to happen, at least in the opinion of others. Anyway, here they were, sleeping like babies in his room. They probably fell asleep without even noticing it when they kept guard the previous evening.

Manjoume let out a quiet sigh, and smiled faintly. _I can't believe those two…_ He got out from bed, stopping behind Juudai, nearly stepping on his Osiris jacket which was lying on the floor. He picked it up and placed carefully around his sleeping classmate's arms. The brunette stirred slightly as the red fabric came in contact with his uncovered skin, and for a moment Manjoume feared that he woke him up, but then Juudai eventually pouted, shifted a bit to make himself more comfortable, let out another sleepy moan, and returned to his dreams. Manjoume just couldn't help himself but smile with amusement. He went behind the brunette, but had to stop again as soon as he reached the door.

"Oh… Manjoume-kun, you already awake?" Misawa asked, wiping his eyes from sleep and sitting straight on the chair. Manjoume looked at him and felt a slight blush spread across his pale cheeks as he remembered the things Misawa said last evening. "Um… are you feeling all right? Your face seems kinda red…" The Ra Yellow asked, standing up and coming closer to the other boy. To Manjoume's terror, he gently placed hid hand on his forehead, obviously in order to check if he could have a fever, which only caused the ex North Academy student blush some more. He shoved Misawa's hand away and made a step backwards.

"I-I'm fine!" Manjoume said quickly with a slight stutter. With this said, he bursted out of his dorm room, not even taking his black coat with him.

"Ah…! Manjoume…?" Misawa followed him to the landing outside and looked with confusion as the boy continued his run until he was gone behind the trees of the nearby forest. With the corner of his eye he saw a movement. He looked in its direction and saw a small black cat run out after his owner. Maybe he was still tiny and his movements seemed kind of clumsy, but he could run surprisingly fast and before Misawa even knew, Jun-chan was gone, just like his owner.

Misawa just made an odd face, giving it something between a worried and amused expression, one hand trailing through his dark hair and the other one rested on his hip. He shook his head with a sigh and went back into Manjoume's room. He looked at Juudai, who was still asleep, quickly doing a few calculations in his mind. _Okay, I still got quite a lot of time until classes, I think I can take a nap… _He thought, approaching the bed and got onto it. _Well, I hope that Manjoume won't care too much if I use it for now._ He laid himself comfortably and closed his eyes. The covers were still warm.

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Manjoume started slowing down until he finally stopped, leaning against a tree as he tried to catch some air. His breath was heavy and ragged. _What did I actually run so fast for? _He asked himself with annoyance. He let his body slid down the trunk he was resting against and sat on the damp grass, his eyelids falling shut. He enjoyed the calm moment, with no one around, only the birds singing their cheerful song… The only problem was that it was, well, pretty cold. He shrugged, crossing his arms around his body in attempt of keeping some warmth, when he felt a familiar brushing. His grey eyes met with a pair of blue ones.

"Hey, Jun-chan. You came after me?" Manjoume asked, taking the kitty and embracing it gently as he held it close to his chest. The small black pet meowed happily and reached up to lick his owner's cheek. The raven-haired boy giggled at the tickling feeling of the cat's soft, warm and rough tongue against his skin. "Well, at least it's not so cold for you, is it? With all this fluffy fur..." He said, stroking Jun-chan's back. "I guess I have to go somewhere warmer unless I go back to my room. Those two idiots are probably still there, so it's kinda too risky, don't you think?" With this said, he got up from the ground, standing staggeringly.

Just then, a quiet rustle caught his attention. He turned sharply to look for its source and saw with surprise a tall, cerulean-haired boy dressed in a unique Obelisk Blue uniform who looked at him with the exact same surprised look.

"Manjoume? What are you doing here?" Marufuji Ryo asked, walking towards the Osiris student.

"I was about to ask the very same question!" Manjoume protested.

"I'm just taking a walk. Oh?" The older teen raised an eyebrow, noticing the furry animal in the other boy's arms. He came in and took it from him so fast, that he didn't even have time to react. "Is it yours?" Ryo asked, eyeing the cat with interest.

"Well… um… yeah…" Manjoume replied, a small blush of embarrassment coming to his face.

"Huuuh… it looks almost exactly like you!"

"I know. Everybody says that." The raven-haired boy sighed with resignation. _I think I should just give in and admit the fact…_ But the next thing he heard was so unexpected that he nearly fell over. Actually, he did hear the thing a few times aldone since the last evening. The point was that he would never think that the person that stood right now in front of him could actually say it!

"It's cute!" The elder Marufuji sibling said happily, looking at Manjoume with surprise as he gasped with disbelief. "Is there something wrong?"

_Yeah, everything's wrong! I'm starting to have enough of people who first imply the similarity between me and Jun-chan with words "Hey, it looks exactly like you!" and then say that he's cute!_ He thought with anger, his face gaining back his usual 'I'll kill you' expression, but a sudden sneeze destroyed the effect.

"It seems you caught a cold. Why did you actually go out without a coat in the first place?" Ryo's voice was deep and serious as usual, but Manjoume also heard something that sounded like… worry?

"I just kind of thought that I won't need it…" He answered bluntly.

The next sneeze that came was so strong and sudden that it made the raven-haired boy lose his balance, and he would fall down at the grass for sure if he hadn't been caught by a pair of strong arms. He looked up, surprised, and saw a rather quite handsome face with deep, dark eyes surrounded by long strokes of soft cerulean hair. And that certain face was leaning way too close for Manjoume's comfort. He felt his blood speed up in his veins and rush to his face in a crimson blush in an instant.

"Your face is red." Ryo stated, putting his forehead against the other boy's. "And you're heating up. It looks like you have a fever. You can't walk back to your dorm alone on this state."

Manjoume blinked at him, practically holding his breath and waiting for whatever was coming. _What does he mean by that? He can't possibly mean… _Well, it seems that what he thought about was exactly what Ryo meant; not giving the young Osiris Red a chance to oppose, he palmed Jun-chan off on him and lifted Manjoume like a bride. _Do I really have that little weight? _The carried boy thought as he noticed that the older one didn't actually put too much effort in what he was currently doing (carrying Manjoume that is). Feeling quite feverish indeed, the former Obelisk simply curled up in Ryo's arms, letting his head rest on his shoulder.

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Juudai woke up with a big yawn, stretching his body, which was still heavy of sleep, and looking around with interest. He wasn't in his room, that was sure, he knew it from the very beginning because he didn't hear Hayato's snoring and the place he was currently in had only one, but really large, bed. That was exactly what he – or at least his arms and head, to be more precise – was rested on. Still, it took a few seconds until he realized where actually he was. As his gaze wandered to the side, he noticed that someone was sleeping on the bed.

"Manjoume?" He asked uncertainly, his eyes widening as he saw that the sleeping person's hair were much too short and he wasn't as thin as the mentioned boy.

Juudai jumped to his feet immediately, chocolate-brown eyes scanning the room in search of a certain raven-haired ex North Academy student with worry. As soon as he made sure that he wasn't anywhere around the place, he jumped towards the bed, nervously shooking Misawa's arm. The Ra Yellow moaned quietly in protest but opened his eyes, giving Juudai a tired look.

"Oh, Juudai. What's the matter?"

"Manjoume! Manjoume is gone!"

"Yeah, I know, he left earlier this morning. Oh, and Jun-chan followed him, so you don't have to worry."

"So ka…" Juudai sighed, slightly relieved, but then his gaze wandered automatically to a hook near the door, and the worry rised up again. "But his coat is still here…"

"Well, he kinda rushed out and forgot to take it." Misawa shrugged his arms and closed his eyes, obviously wanting to go back to sleep.

Juudai suddenly paled. "WHAT!? And you just let him go!? He might catch a cold!" He screamed, grabbing the black North Academy coat and ran out, goodbyed by a disoriented look of a certain black-haired teen who was innocently occupying Manjoume's bed.

"I'm not his boyfriend to carry his things after him, am I?" He mumbled, frowning slightly. _Though, the idea is kind of…_

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Ryo was moving unbelievably fast through the forest, even though he was careful not to cause too much turbulences or any other kind of discomfort to Manjoume and Jun-chan. _I guess his legs are just really as long as they look…_ the younger boy thought, holding tight to the Obelisk. Suddenly, he felt they stopped.

"Huh? Hey, isn't it Juudai there?" Ryo asked, staring towards a brunette who was waving his hands to them while running in their direction.

Manjoume looked at the said boy with surprise in his clouded eyes as he saw what the orange-haired boy was holding – his black coat. He finally reached them, putting his hands on his knees for support as he tried to catch a breath. He looked a bit tired, but happy at the same time, his usual wide grin still on its place.

"Hey, Manjoume, I brought you coat! Oh, and hi, Ryo, thank for carrying him all the way!"

"No problem. I was simple in the neighbourhood." The older student returned the smile. "Oh, and you should take him your dorm as fast as possible. It seems that he caught a cold, and has fever as well." He put Manjoume carefully on the ground, letting him use his shoulder as a support, since the boy was shaking slightly.

Juudai looked at his classmate with worry and sympathy in his brown eyes. "I thought that could happen. That's why I brought his coat…"

"Well, anyway, I leave things to you now. Take care!" Ryo handed Manjoume over to the brunette, smiled at them warmly once again and left.

The chocolate-orange boy immediately put the coat tightly around the other one's arms with great care, putting an arm around his waste. Feeling his shaking, he embraced him, holding him close to himself, and slowly started leading him towards the Osiris Red dorm. "Seriously, what were you thinking?" He asked with concern in his voice, looking at Manjoume's feverish face with worry.

He didn't answer. He didn't have to. Juudai just let out a sigh, tightening his hold a little, and slightly tilting his head so that it rested against Manjoume's. "Well, at least it seems you'll miss today's classes, lucky baka. That's at least one thing to be glad about." The brunette said, trying to cheer his friend up a little. He cracked an eye open to look at the raven-haired boy's face only to notice, that he had his eyes closed, his usually pale skin now red of fever, but he was smiling.

And that was enough to make Juudai smile, too.

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Okinata: Whoa, didn't think I'll get reviews for the first chapter so fast! Anyway, much thanks, everyone!

As you can see, this chapter is kinda much longer than the previous one. I hope you'll like it, though I'm not quite sure if the grammar and style is OK… anyway, read and review, please! As you probably noticed, it's not a one-shot anymore (arigato to Littlest Angel! ), and I don't know how long it will be yet, and I also don't know, what pairing to decide on, so please, help! O,- As for now I've got one person who wants it to be JuudaiXManjoume, but I didn't make my mind yet, so tell me what do you want to read about!


	3. Good sides and bad sides

Okinata: I just have to write it: REALLY, REALLY, REALLY THANKS, EVERYONE!!! You possibly can't even imagine how happy I was to get all those reviews! And it's only two chapters as for now… wipes tears of joy Oh, and much thanks for all the ideas! I'm keeping them in my mind all the time. Though, the story is kinda far till the end, so beware, many things can happen! I wanna twist the whole thing as much as I only can! evil, evil grin

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3. Good sides and bad sides

When Manjoume woke up, he didn't actually feel much better than before losing consciousness. He felt all dizzy, and it took quite a moment for him to be able to focus on recognizing the room he was in. The memories of what happened before he blacked out started slowly flowing back to his confused mind.

Kitty… Misawa… panic… forest… Ryo… Juudai…

As the raven-haired Osiris Red remembered what was connected with all those separate thoughts, he felt his body temperature rise some more. He quickly tried to focus on something else. He needed to focus on just anything. He started examining the interior, the look of his tired eyes shining with fever stopping on each object. Well, it definitely was his room, that's what he could say for sure. _Otherwise, the door wouldn't be outside, right? Right._ He slowly turned his gaze to the bed he was in, and saw a black furry ball curled on his lap. He smiled faintly to himself and stroked the ball's head, making it stir and wake up with a big, silent yawn.

"Jun-chan…" Manjoume sighed with delight and smiled some more at the rather hell of cute view of his cat stretching his tiny body sleepily and looking around with half-awake, blue eyes. "You're always by me, right?" He grabbed him, hugging him carefully to his chest.

The ex-Obelisk raised his head sharply, looking towards the doorway as he heard some voices coming from outside.

"Oi, matte yo, Aniki!"

Well, yes, there was no mistaking it. There was only one person in the whole academy with such a sugar-childish voice, and only one person that used this phrase. Those two actually were one person, and Manjoume recognised the irritating fact even with fever before the invaders reached his room.

Juudai bursted in, with Marufuji Shou as always right after him.

"Hey, Manjoume! How d'ya feel? It's lunch time already, I brought you your part 'cause I figured you'd probably be hungry." _Yep, talkative as always. That was Juudai, all right._ The brunette stood in front of him with his usual wide grin, panting slightly but visibly happy, with a rather quite big lunchbox held tightly in his hands. He came up to Manjoume's bed and gave the package to him, the short, blue-haired Marufuji sibling watching it with some fear in his big greyish eyes. "Here, better eat while it's still warm." Juudai said with another warm smile as his sick classmate blinked at him a few times with disbelief and started opening the box, Jun-chan looking at it with interest.

But it appeared that Manjoume wasn't destined to calmly eat what the chocolate-orange boy brought him. He didn't even finish opening the lunch as Misawa came into his dorm room, with a bundle wrapped with a high quality yellow fabric. He stopped in the middle of the room, looking at the two Osiris students that arrived before him with a small frown. "Juudai? Shou? What are you guys doing here?"

"Good question, I'd like to know it myself." The shorter one sighed, receiving a sad, but slightly reproaching at the same time, look from his best friend as a reaction. Manjoume just snorted, and the Ra Yellow student eyed the three other boys questionably.

"I just brought Manjoume his lunch." Juudai said, pointing at the lunchbox the sick raven-haired Osiris held, his black kitty now trying to get into it. "And you?"

"Oh… actually, I took some food from my dorm's cafeteria. I thought that Manjoume-kun would probably be hungry and would like to eat something, so…" He explained with an apologetic smile and… a slight blush. "Well, I guess it was unnecessary, so I'll just leave the lunch here and you guys do whatever you want with it." He said quickly, putting the yellow package on a night table next to Manjoume's bed, his movements uncharacteristically nervous. "I guess I'll get going, then. Got some work to do." With this said, he headed for the exit, but had to stop, as he nearly bumped into someone. He looked at the person in front of him with a slight shock, his brain refusing to believe in what his eyes saw. Only Shou's surprised scream convinced him that he wasn't hallucinating.

"O-onii-san!?"

That's right. It was the elder Marufuji brother and the top Obelisk student who stood in the doorway, indeed. "Are you all here to… visit Manjoume-kun?" He asked, his voice deep and serious as always, but Juudai noticed that he tried to hide something behind his back.

"Yeah. You too?" The brunette asked, shifting his body a little as he tried to see what the older boy held but obviously failing to do so.

"Yes. I just wanted to know if he feels any better… oh, and…" He fidged, frowning with confusion, and after a moment showed what he instinctively tried to hide in the beginning – a quite big box packed in what seemed to be the highest quality silk. "I thought that he would like to eat something tasty, so I took it form the Obelisk. But I see that I was a bit late, so I'll just leave it here. Well… goodbye." He put the bundle on the chair next to the door, nodded his head slightly and left.

The four students stared into space where Ryo stood just a minute ago completely dumbfound.

"Now that was… weird." Shou stated the obvious. The others just nodded in silence.

In the meantime, Jun-chan already ate about half of Manjoume's Osiris lunch, and was now purring happily.

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Manjoume was still sitting in his bed, with two empty boxes lying next to him and Jun-chan curled up asleep on his pillow. The ex Obelisk said he wasn't hungry, and besides he wouldn't be able to eat everything by himself, so Juudai, being himself, was obviously more than eager to help him in solving this problem. Shou left earlier together with Misawa – they were to have tutoring at the Ra Yellow's place about an hour later, anyway, so Juudai would just join them then. And now the brunette has been alone with Manjoume for almost an hour they spent on eating, playing with Jun-chan and arguing as they usually did. It was almost unbelievable how the raven-haired boy's tendency to quarrels barely changed, even when he had a fever, and Juudai's constant questions whether he felt any better just didn't help him with his difficult personality. But still, the atmosphere was very friendly and Manjoume even started thinking that he actually feels rather comfortable with the other boy around like this, and so it lasted until the very last moment when Shou came in, slightly irritated, to remind his Aniki about the tutoring and inform him that he was already late.

"Okay, okay, I get Shou!" The brunette said with a sigh as the shorter boy started explaining him why did he actually need the tutoring. "Well, Manjoume, gotta go. I'll come see you today right before the sack time. Um… or I'll better just drop in tomorrow morning." He quickly corrected himself seeing his blue-haired friend's daggering look. "So… well, goodbye and goodnight!"

He came over to Manjoume's bed and - much to Shou's terror and Manjoume's dumb surprise - took him in his arms, giving him a long, caring hug while rubbing his back slightly. The raven-haired boy stirred and tensed at the warm feeling of the affectionate touch and the brunette's breath tickling his skin in an almost… tempting manner. He immediately shoved the thoughts away. It was Juudai, after all. There were absolutely no chances that he would have any weird intents, now were there? _No, definitely not. I mean… he's too stupid to think this way, isn't he? Wait… now I sound like a pervert who would actually WISH for him to have such thoughts! …funny, his hair smell exactly like they look like – chocolate and oranges…God, I must be really feverish!_

"A-! Manjoume? Isn't your fever rising?" Juudai asked, getting even closer and checking the other's forehead with back of his hand – his body got hotter indeed. "Maybe I should stay with you in case if-"

"N-no, I'm fine. I just need some rest." _Baka, if you want the temperature to drop then stop being so close to me! _Manjoume thought, slightly angry. The other teen was now practically lying on top of him, and he decided to try not focus on the fact… too much. He gently shoved him away, though it was rather more as if he pushed his hands slightly against Juudai's chest and the brunette simply understood the silent request and got up from him. The previous Obelisk nodded towards the door, where the younger Marufuji was standing trying his best not to look at the embarrassing scene on bed (though he obviously didn't realise how embarrassing it really was). "You better go, Shou's waiting for you. Besides, I don't want some damn stupid cold cause trouble to all the losers around me, so you better not miss the tutoring because of it." He just couldn't get rid of his usual way of being, but still, his voice was much softer than usually. Actually, Juudai never heard him sound so… nice. Manjoume wasn't sure if it was only his imagination, but back then, it seemed that the brunette immediately brightened up upon his words.

"Then, like, take care!" He smiled and left the room in jumps, Shou following him with his usual "Matte yo, Aniki!", Manjoume watching them leave with a kind of sad longing in his dark grey eyes.

Suddenly he got out of his large bed, the violent movement waking Jun-chan, who meowed in complain, jumping off the pillow he was occupying and placing his stare on his owner, who went to the door. He stopped in front of a chair next to them and took the bundle that was lying on it, examining it carefully. He frowned thoughtfully. He remembered from when he was an Obelisk Blue himself that the food there was packed really neatly, but… did they ever use a fabric like this one? Only by touching the blue material he could tell that it was really a highest quality silk. And he knew that it would be too expensive for the Academy to waste money on such things… so no, they certainly did not pack things with silk. But on the other hand, didn't actually know what the Academy's financial state was at the moment. Perhaps they got money from somewhere and could now afford such exclusivity…? Now that was possible.

He smiled at himself for having some ridiculous thoughts again and with the box in his hands he came up to his bed, digging himself into covers, Jun-chan sitting by his side and watching him curiously as he started unpacking the gift from Ryo. The raven-haired boy's eyes widened as he saw what was inside the package, and he even nearly felt like crying.

A plate with ebi fries. But not the ones they were getting in the Osiris Red cafeteria. No. High-class, professionally prepared, big, breaded shrimps, with a delicate sauce, mashed potatoes with dates and wine, and three exquisite salads, everything with the best spices and seasonings and placed on the plate in a perfect composition. Moreover, it was still warm – all thanks to special thermal box that could keep the food's temperature even for three hours. Next to the plate Manjoume noticed a fork, and under it – a piece of paper. He took it out with interest, one hand shoving Jun-chan away from the food, since the kitty was visibly very eager to taste it. He didn't recognise the writing style but it was more than obvious who wrote it. His gaze trailed along the elegant, slender characters.

'_I hope you feel any better and that you will enjoy__ the meal – it must have been a long time since you last ate the Obelisk ebi fries._

_With best wishes of regaining health,_

_Marufuji Ryo.'_

Manjoume stared at the note with confusion. Since when did the older Obelisk actually care about him? They barely ever talked, even back when he was an Obelisk himself! And besides… "How did he know that ebi fries are my favourite food?" He voiced his thoughts. After all, it was a meal that wasn't normally served at the Obelisk's cafeteria, he always had to order them and wait until the chief prepares it for him. That would mean that Ryo did the same thing… but if he didn't know it was his favourite, then he wouldn't go through the effort, would he? _But how the Hell did he know!? He doesn't talk with anyone! Well, maybe except for Tenjoin-kun… but she definitely doesn't know what my favourite food is! Only Juudai does, but the only thing that dropout boy ever talks about is duelling… _Now his head started to hurt. That's when he decided he'll first eat the present from Ryo, and then eventually start thinking.

GXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGX

The raven-haired Osiris Red really couldn't tell when was the last time he ate something that delicious. It took almost an half an hour for him to finish the meal, because he was savouring it like he never did before. By the way he discovered that Jun-chan also liked ebi fries. In the beginning he wanted to keep every last bit to himself, but when he looked into the cat's blue, begging eyes, he just couldn't resist. He looked so cute and so innocent… so he gave him one fry. The black ball of fur started consuming it immediately, purring with delight and seemingly enjoying it as much as his owner. But now, the plate in the box was empty, lying on a night table next to the two other boxes. To tell the truth, Manjoume told Juudai that he wasn't hungry only because he wanted to spare some place in his stomach for the food the older Obelisk brought him – he didn't know what it was back then, but he knew that practically everything that came form the Obelisk cafeteria was delicious.

And now he was full. He felt like the fever has really dropped a bit, and was kinda full of energy. Or at least very awake. He considered going to sleep earlier, but he became convinced that he won't be able to do that after he tried. Even if he was sleepy, there were just too many thoughts in his head, flying all around his mind in chaos. They didn't stop even for a moment, so he had to catch them, but they weren't also letting him rest. That was a really irritating feeling, and it seemed it couldn't be helped – he just had to sort them and think everything over. And the earlier you start, the sooner you get rid of them, so he gave into them immediately after deciding it.

The thing that occupied him the most was what was happening during those past two days and how he reacted to it. To be more precise, it was really frustrating him, so he obviously didn't like it at all. But then again, it felt quite nice as long as he didn't think about it too much. It was just so… well… to put it simply it was damn confusing, and he felt like he didn't have any control on it. And not being able to control something was one of the things he disliked the most. Only that in this case, it gave him some shivers of excitation. But that's another thing he didn't like. It was pleasant but scaring at the same time. That's right. It was the exactly perfectly fitting word: scaring. Manjoume Jun was scared. He never felt a fear like this, though he did know what its source was. He was a person who didn't like feelings. They were just too disturbing. That's why he didn't like them, that's why he was afraid of emotions.

Besides, he wasn't actually used to affectionate behaviours. He has been raised in a very disciplined and strict way. Damn it, he didn't even have any spare place for his own dreams! Or at least so it was when he was still fully a Manjoume family member. But now it has changed. He had a new family, a new home… and new dreams to follow. His own dreams. And people that supported him, someone he could call his 'friends'… if he wasn't such a proud bastard, that is. Besides, that's another thing to add to his problem's list. Normal people don't have weird thoughts about their friends, not to mention someone they think of as of their family, right? It's just sick. That's right. Sick and twisted. And yet… he really liked it. In his own sick and twisted way…

He slapped himself mentally. Weird thoughts again… he wasn't… well… like THAT… was he? No, he didn't swing that way. He didn't want it, it was all wrong. He knew that nowadays it wasn't anything all that weird. It was considered sick about ten years ago, but not now! It almost amazed him how people's toleration grew. Now it was normal that you could see two boys or two girls sitting in a park and kissing… but still, he just couldn't accept it as a normal thing! Maybe it was because he was like that himself…? _NO! I'm not gay, nor bi for that matter! There's just no way…!_

But if what he thought was true, then why did he react the way he did when Juudai, Misawa or Ryo were close to him? He hid his face in his hands, forcing his brain to an effort of intense thinking, searching for a way out of the situation he was, searching for an answer… His eyes widened as he realised that it was so obvious… _Hormones. The most basic explanation of emotions. I'm a teenager, after all. It's normal that my hormones are driving me nuts. Though there is always a risk that if it goes on like that, I'll really become a… _He didn't even want to end this thought. _But if I want to do something about it… _Though he wasn't actually sure if he did want to, but who cares. _I just need to find a girlfriend! _He smiled at the obvious solution.

But then again, there was another problem: Manjoume didn't actually like any girl in the Academy, talk about considering any being worth of his attention. And then it struck him. There actually was one girl he found actually really attractive. And she had a great personality, as well. _I can't think of anyone being actually even close to her in those means… Yes, it could only be Tenjoin-kun!_

A knock on the door frame snapped him out of his thoughts. He lifted his head and looked towards the sound's source, his grey eyes meeting with a pair of a hazel ones, causing a slight blush come to his cheeks. _Speaking of the devil. The Hell is that? Some kind of telepathy? _He thought nervously, staring at Tenjoin Asuka who stood in the doorway, surrounded by a glorious light of a setting sun.

* * *

Okinata: Okay, so this it the continuation to the previous chapter (you know, the day that started there didn't end – it will in the next chap). So, how do you like the story so far? I guess it got kinda crappy (especailly at the end; writing three hors past midnight sucks, belive me), but I just had some minor problem thinking of what to do next, and I just had to find some way out from the situation in anime where Manjoume was in love with Asuka (I don't like her! . ). Oh, by the way, about the timeline: I watched the GX series only until the end of the Seven Stars Assassins series, and I still missed a few episodes of those, so I placed it somewhere after the 35th episode… Still, this fanfiction might get quite long because I wanna watch the series until the great Kaiser Ryo comeback! (warning, it's a hint! O,- ) Well, anyway, 'till the next chapter! 


	4. Nightmare in a dreamland

Okinata: Okay, so I kinda failed in putting this chapter as soon as I wanted. The problem is, that I just DON"T HAVE ITERNET AT HOME. Yep, however unbelievably it would sound, that's how it is. So now, as the school year started, I'm gonna try my best at keeping up with updating the story… though it's also unsure… Well, ya' know, I'm an IB student now, and stuff, and the teachers are already killing us! TT'

But seriously, I'm way psyched and I just can't get my thought off this story! It's all YOUR fault!!! points randomly at those who read it I kinda draw practically only Manjoume&c.o. and my mania grew only some more as I recently found leather boots that look almost the same as Manjoume's! (no, seriously, I'm writing this chapter with those boots on, black trousers, violet polo and a black coat, ' )

* * *

4. Nightmare in a dreamland

He stared with his dark grey eyes at the girl, not actually sure what to say. In his mind, he seriously started considering if he should start believing in Destiny, as his gaze trailed up and down the blonde Obelisk Blue. And it was her voice that made him come back to reality.

"Um… may I come in?" She asked with some uncertainty as she noticed Manjoume's half-conscious stare. The raven-haired boy's face turned crimson red with embarrassment. He simply nodded his head, digging himself deeper into covers and holding them so that they would hide half of his blushed face. "So, I heard that you caught quite a cold, so I just thought I'll drop in to check if you're any better. Oh, and I brought you notes from today's classes…"

He let his thoughts wonder, carried by Asuka's kind voice. He half-closed his eyes, his mind trailing off. _It would really be a good thing… come to think of it, Tenjoin-kun is a really great person… nice, always there to help, a loyal friend, but proud and self-confident at the same time… she's almost flawless… perfect… her long hair, shining eyes, smooth skin…_

"Etto… Manjoume-kun? You all right?"

He suddenly snapped out of his dream-like state, jumping and hitting the back of his head against the bed's frame. He hissed with irritation, rubbing the hurting place and swearing under his breath. "S-sorry, did you say something?"

"Well, yeah, I just asked you whether you're allright. You seem kinda… absent-minded. Maybe you should get some early sleep?" The girl asked with concern, her big brown eyes filled with worry and sympathy.

"N-no, I think I'm fine… I have to get today's homework done, anyway… It's better to do it as fast as possible, and have some rest later, don't you think?" He laughed nervously, still trying to get rid of pain by massaging the hit place on his skull. _Okay, no more daydreaming, no matter what! _He thought, slapping himself mentally. Why did he have to get in such a foolish situation right in front of the only way of rescue for his… what could he call it? Mentality? Psychic? Orientation? Well, something among those lines, just whatever it was that needed some help.

"Hello, you're getting distracted again!" Asuka sighed, now slightly annoyed, waving her hand right in front of Manjoume's eyes. "You know, perhaps I'll just leave you my notes 'till tomorrow and-" She was interrupted by the sound of her PDA. She raised a finger and moved her lips silently in a quiet apologise and picked up the device.

The sick boy stared at her as she talked to one of her friends – the red-haired one, he couldn't remember her name, though – his mind trying to register what they were talking about, but failing to do so. He felt utterly tired and could feel his eyes closing every time he didn't concentrate on keeping them wide-open. He faintly heard the signal of the end of the conversation between the two Obelisk girls, the annoying, high-pitched sound hurting his ears and paving into his brain like a screw.

"I'm really sorry, Manjoume, I guess I have to go. Got some stuff to do." Asuka said with an apologetic look. But the said boy didn't seem to hear her anymore. She glanced at him, his chest rising up and falling back down in calm breaths, eyelids closed shut and dark brows slightly frowned in a feverish sleep. The blonde girl sighed and smiled. "Well, hang in there, I'll come again tomorrow." She whispered, sneaking out of the room, her notes left on a night table, just as she told she would do before the raven-haired teen fell asleep.

…

Dark. It was all dark around him. He lingered in the emptiness, alone, curled like a child, with his arms wrapped around his legs, his head tilted and eyes closed.

Some pictures flashed through his mind so fast that he didn't even know which one of them was first. Three different faces… He lifted his head swiftly, slowly opening his eyes just to notice that he wasn't alone anymore. He stared at the exact three people he just thought about, blinking with confusion.

"What are you three doing here?" He asked, eyeing them suspiciously as they started walking towards him through the pitch-black darkness.

"We just wanted to see you!" Juudai said with a goofy grin never vanishing form his face.

"I hope you don't have anything against?" Misawa added, with a wide, confident smile.

"We didn't want you to be all alone." Ryo finished, giving Manjoume a warm, caring look.

The raven-haired boy stared at them, shifting his gaze from each of them, obviously disoriented. "But… how did you find me?"

"Is it all that important?" The Ra Yellow answered calmly and put a hand on the former North Academy student's shoulder in caring manner.

"We're so happy that we're with you!" The Osiris Red one flung his arms around his neck happily, his voice filled with joy.

"It's all that matters now…" The Obelisk Blue whispered in his ear, wrapping his arms around Manjoume's slim waist from behind.

"I-I…" Manjoume felt a strong blush come to his face, his body temperature rising rapidly. _That's right… I have a fever… It must be some weird feverish dream!_

"Is it really?" The cerulean-haired teen asked, his warm breath tickling the skin of the younger one's neck, making shivers run through his spine.

"It should be logic that it's not a dream, since you can fell our presence." The black-haired boy stated, entangling his fingers into Manjoume's soft strokes and playing with it with visible pleasure.

"You don't believe us?" The brunette asked with a slight pout, bringing his face dangerously close to the blushing boy's, childish eyes shining with some strange spark.

"B-but… you… I…" A moan that suddenly escaped his lips didn't let him finish what he wanted to say. That was when he suddenly noticed that there was someone else in the empty space. His grey eyes widened with shock and horror as he saw his brothers standing about ten meters further, right next to a TV team: people with cameras, microphones, and a director who kept saying 'Just act naturally, that's it…' through a loudspeaker.

"N-no… what are you… Stop…!" But no one would listen, not even his very own body. A few seconds later he was all hot inside, one hand at his mouth, trying to stop the quiet sounds of pleasure that still kept coming despite all his efforts. Small, blinding lightings ran through the nerve system all over his body, he was panting for breath and felt light-headed.

And then a thunder sounded in his head, the loud sound vibrating in his ears, painfully bolting through his mind. He closed his eyes shut, covering the sides of his head with his hands. _But wait… since when do thunders sound like a creaking floor?_

…

He snapped his eyes back open, welcomed by a view of his room's ceiling. His body was covered with sweat and he felt that the fever has rised again. Taking deep breaths, he slowly sat up in the covers on his bed, noticing a weight on his lap. He looked down and saw Jun-chan sleeping peacefully, only his ears fluttering nervously from time to time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you up…" He heard a familiar voice and turned his head sharply, placing his glare on a certain tall Obelisk Blue student who stood near his bed.

Manjoume eyed Ryo suspiciously, memories of his dream still lingering in his mind and making him feel utterly uncomfortable in the other boy's presence. "What are you doing here?"

"I have some problems with sleep, so I usually go out for a late walk… but I kind of got caught in rain, and the Osiris dorms were the nearest." The cerulean-haired boy explained in an apologetic voice.

"So why didn't you go to Juudai's place instead of mine?" Manjoume asked with a growl, keeping up his annoyed act.

"I didn't want to wake them up by knocking, and in your case it wasn't necessary. Besides, I thought that you used earplugs." The last sentence was both an excuse and a question, but has been completely ignored by the other teen.

"Uh-huh. Well, and what if I don't want you here?"

The eldest Marufuji sibling shrugged his shoulders. "It's your room, if you'll wish me to exit, then I will."

That answer left Manjoume dumbfound for a moment. He wasn't quite used to such… obedience, though he always wanted it. Not actually sure what to do, he gently removed Jun-chan from his lap and turned to get out from underneath the covers but with great surprise found himself unable to do so; the covers were held on both of his sides. He started trailing his helpless stare sideward to see what was going on, slightly frightened, and saw through the darkness two silhouettes. The bigger one on his right was sited on his bed, backed against the bedpost. The smaller figure on his left was lying under the covers, with back turned at Manjoume.

An angry thought ran through the raven-haired head, his eye starting to twitch nervously. _And I was surprised to have such a weird dream! _It wasn't even one second after noticing the two boys in his bed as he inhaled deeply and – without giving a second though to what he was about to do – he yelled. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM, YOU DAMN IDIOTS!!!"

Jun-chan jumped, scared, with a loud reproachful meow and ran outside. Misawa and Juudai woke up immediately, their eyes snapping open as they started turning their heads in confusion. At the very same time Ryo switched the light on to see what was actually going on. Manjoume covered his mouth, his grey eyes wide-open in terror as the realization of what he just did – or rather WHEN and WHERE he did it – struck him. Mumbled curses escaped his lips. "Oh shit, oh holy shit, what have I done!"

The three students in his room stared at each other in confusion for a moment that seemed to last forever, until the Obelisk Blue teen whispered "Quick, we have to hide somewhere!", switching the lights off and getting into a wardrobe. Misawa rushed immediately to the bathroom. Juudai was the only one left, standing in the middle of Manjoume's room and looking around, disoriented. But finally it clicked in his mind, and he managed to roll under the king-sized bed the very last moment before footsteps could be heard outside and Daitokuji-sensei entered the room a second later with his cat following him as usually. They both were completely wet, big drops of water falling down them and soaking into carpet.

"Manjoume, what's going on here?" He asked, wiping his eyes of sleep and scanning through the room in search of a reason for Manjoume's scream. In the mid-time, a group of a few Osiris Red students started appearing behind their teacher, almost each one of them wiping eyes and yawning loudly, not even caring enough to cover their mouths while they did. Some were conscious enough to bring umbrellas with them, but the majority didn't seem to even notice that the rain was pouring down on them.

Manjoume's face turned crimson red of embarrassment. He tilted his head in an apologetic manner, letting his gaze wander all around the covers on his bed. He mentally slapped himself when he caught himself on thinking about Juudai, who was somewhere under him. "I-it's nothing. I guess… I just had to have a bad dream. I guess it's due to the fever, I'm not feeling too well… I'm really sorry, sensei…" He mumbled, stuttering awkwardly.

Daitokuji eyed him for another moment before sighing with tiredness and turning around to face the students that stood beside him. "Well okay then, children. Everyone back to their beds, come on, hurry up!" With this, the whole group gone, leaving an utterly confused Manjoume – as they believed – alone in his room.

"Phew, they're finally gone." Juudai said happily, getting out form underneath the bed and brushed himself off while looking around with a smile. Misawa came out form the bathroom and Ryo from the wardrobe, the first one with cautious look on his face and the other one stoic as always.

But the goofy grin on the chocolate-orange boy's face immediately changed Manjoume's mood form confused to furious. "Now, you've got three seconds to give me an explanation of why you two were in my bed, and you better make it a good one, or you won't have the occasion to sleep in any bed anymore!" He hissed through clenched teeth, his grey eyes sending deadly sparks.

The brunette Osiris Red gulped, cold shivers running along his spine. He hasn't seen him so mad since their quarrel about underwear. "Well… I was just kinda… um… worried, and… just came to see if everything's OK with you, and… guess I just fell asleep…" He gave his answer, rubbing the back of his head.

Manjoume's glare then shifted to Misawa, making the Ra Yellow react identically like Juudai did (well, maybe except the underwear memories part). The black-haired teen understood immediately, that he wasn't asked for an answer – he was demanded to do it. He swallowed hard, closing his hands into fists to discipline himself. "I know it might sound awkwardly and stupid, but my reason is the same as Juudai's." He stated, his eyes locked firmly on the ground as he couldn't make himself dare to look into Manjoume's cold grey orbs.

"I've already heard your answer." The ex-North Academy student turned to Ryo, the two other boys following his example, now curious of what did he mean by that. "And as for now it was the most acceptable one of all the three excuses I've heard this night." Now the icy-cold fear was back and Juudai and Misawa could swear they could almost see the menace of pain and death lingering right over their heads. Manjoume sighed deeply, closing his eyes and resting his forehead in his hand. The frown on his face signified without a doubt that he was struggling against the rising urge of killing all the three students in his room and committing suicide right after it. Oh, and he would take Jun-chan with him, of course.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly, forming what he wanted to say in his mind and trying his best to remove all the curses and insults from it. When he finished sorting it, not even 1/10 of the initial speech was left, but oh well, better that than beating the three teens to death, right? Even the Osiris Red dorms were better than prison… or so he hoped. "Juudai. Get out to your room. Misawa. You go with him. Ryo. You can stay here. Until the rain stops. Know my mercy." He ordered in short sentences as if he was talking to someone dumb or deaf. He looked at the intruders who were staring back at him in silent disbelief. "Well, what are you waiting for? Move!" He growled his annoyance making a great, full-force comeback and he was sure – despite everything he ever said or did – that he didn't want his classmates and Shou's brother become its first victims. But there was also another reason for his anger, aside the visible stupidity of the Duel Academy students. _Damn that freaking dream, now I'm starting to see idiotic things like disappointment and sadness in Juudai's and Misawa's eyes and unbelievable gratitude in Ryo's. Wait… Oh shit, it wasn't my imagination…?! _

He sent the eldest Marufuji sibling a daggering look as he noticed that he really did look at him. "What the hell are you staring at?" _Damn this whole world to hell! _He thought with resignation as the cerulean-haired boy excused him politely with a blush.

* * *

Okinata: Well, yep, that would be pretty much it, as for now. I'm sorry if you feel disappointed with this chapter – I know I made you all wait so long and the only thing you get after all this time is this crappy twisted thing, but I promise I'll try my best next time! Oh, and I've got a big, Big, BIG request: if anyone has enough patience, then please, could you report me any grammar/stylistic mistakes I make? I wanna improve all I can, and my English classes just don't give me the opportunity for it… (They're hell of boring, all we do is watching films and blabbing about terrorism and conspiracy theories! Help, ) Pwetty, pwetty please? I'll even send you some of my fanarts if you do! (well, it's more like 'fanscribbles' than 'fanarts', but you don't care, right? RIGHT?)

Anyways, please review and 'till the next chap!

P.S.: Special thanks to Littlest Angel! Your reviews bring me tons of joy. And laughter. And you submitted the first review! I love you! And thus, the underwear quarrel plot I dedicate to you! O,-


	5. Did you know that

Okinata: Yeah, I know, I made you wait a bit again, didn't I? Well, I hope you'll still like it as much as I like tormenting the Yu-Gi-Oh GX characters! devilish laughter Well, anyway, get your story on! .

5. Did you know that…

Ryo stared at Manjoume's back. Once or twice he even managed to catch a glimpse of the younger boy's face, and was really astonished by the tranquil expression he had when he was asleep. But he knew at the same time, that the raven-haired Osiris Red wasn't really sleeping. He was pretending. And he did it well enough to deceive someone more naïve than him. _I'm sure Juudai would fall for it._ The Obelisk Blue student thought with some dose of amusement.

They made a deal – Manjoume and him. Ryo was allowed to stay in the ex-North Academy student's room until the rain stops or at least ceases, but if he would wake Manjoume up just one more time, he was going to be kicked out, no matter what the weather conditions outside were. And Ryo had to admit, that it was quite a good deal indeed – especially concerning Manjoume's usual way of being. But there was one thing the cerulean-haired prodigy did not quite understand: if not waking Manjoume up was one of the major conditions for his staying in this room, then why didn't the smaller boy go to sleep? Why did he keep pretending? Just to make sure that he would keep his promise of leaving right after the rain stops? No, that wouldn't make sense. Then a ridiculous, but kind of exciting idea visited his mind. _Maybe he wants to see if I won't do anything stupid to him, like, I don't know, kiss him or even rape him? _something whispered mischievously inside his mind. Ryo shook his head, but the voice just wouldn't go away, only continued its divagation. _But then again, what would be the purpose of doing that? I'm sure he is tired after this day and night, and he's ill as well… so, does he want to be sure that you won't do it to him? Or maybe the exactly opposite…? _Ryo clenched his teeth. "Stop." He whispered silently to himself, but his mind wouldn't obey. _Maybe he wants you to do something to him? Just think of it, he's a teenager in the period of the greatest need. He must feel frustrated, he never was in a relationship, after all, and is definitely not a kind of person that would like to satisfy himself personally. _"Shut the hell up!" Ryo hissed to himself, and not thinking too much, he rushed towards the exit.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The cerulean-haired Obelisk stopped, but didn't turn around, just bit hard on his bottom lip. _Shit._

"It's still raining like hell." Manjoume stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "You're so much fed up with this dorm, or did you suddenly feel that you need taking a shower? Cause if that's the case, the bathroom is this way. It's not as good as in the Obelisks, but I still believe it's better than rain."

Ryo allowed a quiet laughter leave his throat. "No, I just… didn't want to trouble you with my presence. I've used your hospitality too much aldone, and it looks like you can't sleep while I'm still here, so…"

"Oh, cut the crap, will you?" The younger teen suddenly interrupted him. "The thing about not waking me up was just made up to keep my reputation. To be honest, I can't fall asleep for a couple of hours after I've been woke up once." Manjoume said with irritation in his deep voice. He reached out towards the night table and switched a small lamp on. "Now, if you want to pay me back for my 'hospitality', then better make me some tea. I'll be more useful than catching a cold in this rain, don't you think?"

This time the Obelisk turned to look at the other student and smiled. "True."

GXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGX

About half an hour passed before Manjoume realised that they almost didn't talk with each other before. They occasionally exchanged some mere comments while watching duels, but it's not something one could call a real conversation, is it? But now it was all different. They were sitting with cups of fruit-flavoured black tea in their hands; the younger one dug deep in covers and Ryo on a chair he placed himself by the king-sized bed to make themselves more comfortable while chatting (with Manjoume's allowance, of course). They talked about almost everything that came across their minds: weather, duelling, Academy… and the felt surprisingly comfortable with it, although it was actually their first conversation ever, and despite all the differences in age, experience and rank between them. The cerulean-haired Obelisk who was usually so quiet and serious that he seemed almost emotionless appeared to be quite talkative. And – what was even more surprising – he had a sense of humour. It's funny how being connected by admiration and a kind of jealousy towards some idiot can open people at each other – soon, both Manjoume and Ryo were laughing their butts off while joking about a certain chocolate-orange dropout boy.

"But he seems to like you a lot." The older teen said out of blue, wiping off tears of excessive laughter. "… Did I say something wrong?" He asked, immediately becoming serious as he noticed that the other student frowned thoughtfully after the last comment.

"No, it's just that… he's been acting kinda too friendly towards me. It really gets on my nerves, you know." Manjoume answered, shaking his head.

"Maybe he's worried about you? He does think of you a lot as of one of his very best friends, so I guess it's only natural considering his outgoing way of being. You're ill, after all…" Ryo tried, but the smaller boy's frowned deepened and his only answer was a muttered 'Maybe'. The third-year Obelisk kept a deep sigh in his lungs and looked towards the door. The sky outside was already turning grey with a few bruised clouds. In the silence that fell between the two Duel Academy students only a few early bird voices could be heard,

"The rain stopped." Ryo stated and shifted his gaze to Manjoume who nodded affirmatively, his stone-grey eyes locked on the sky outside the door as well.

"The sun is already setting, too."

For a long moment they were just sitting there, staring in awe at the golden plate that started slowly emerging from behind the horizon, filling the room with delicate orange rays of its light. The atmosphere was unbelievable, there was something almost divine about it. It felt almost… romantic.

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving. If you excuse me." Ryo said after a long moment with a deep sigh, lifting himself. He placed a half-empty cup with cold tea on the night table and made his way towards the exit, only stopping in the doorway and turning to look at Manjoume to say goodbye, but failed to do so as the raven-haired boy spoke up first.

"Ryo… erm… I mean. Marufuji-kun, if you'll have some spare time, you can drop by." He said, and then quickly added "You're the only person that isn't a part of Juudai's fanclub, and it would be really nice if I got the chance to criticise him with someone again. Oh, and bring your own cup next time – I'm not entirely convinced about the Osiris washing-up liquid's capability."

The prodigy smiled and bowed slightly. "Of course. Well then, goodbye, Manjoume-san." And with this said, he left.

After that, Manjoume stared at the sky outside until it changed from pink to bright blue. He sighed and peered at the cup on his night table. He put his own there and took the other one, raising it slowly to his lips. After a minute of hesitation or so he tilted it and started drinking the bitter-sweet cold liquid in small sips until it was no more there. Next, he got out of his bed, taking both cups with him. He poured the content of his to the sink, then put it together with Ryo's next to it. He got back to his king-sized bed and dug himself deep under the covers. Something jumped on the mattress, pushing his hand, obviously wanting to go underneath the covers as well. This something was small, wet, furry and emitted organic warmth.

"Jun-chan? Where have you been?" The cat's owner asked happily grabbing his fluffy companion and bringing him closer with a tired smile. "Um… you're all wet. What did you go outside for?" He frowned. Then with a sigh he put his kitty on the bed by his side, covering him with his quilt. "You're just as careless and stupid as the guy who found you, 'ya know?"

After a few minutes, Jun-chan was already asleep, but the raven-haired boy definitely wasn't. The problem was that he currently was feeling hotter and hotter, and soon he just couldn't take it anymore. "Gwaaah, what the Hell?!" He yelled, jumping out of the covers and almost causing his kitty fall off the bed. _Why is it so frigging hot in here?_ He thought with a frown. And then an idea struck him. He raised his hand and placed it on his forehead, then on his neck.

The fever was gone.

"..."

He looked at his clock. _I'm late, but who cares. _He smiled and walked up to his wardrobe.

GXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGX

"Manjoume!" Juudai sang, jumping towards the said boy and grabbing him in a sudden hug.

"Let go of me, you baka drop-out!" The raven-haired boy screamed in protest, blushing instantly. He sounded irritated, but he felt all warm and happy inside. It felt as if he died and has been now brought back to life with all its joys… and flaws…

A strong hand landed on his shoulder, and as he turned his head he saw Misawa's handsome, smiling face leaning not-so-far from his very own. "You look much better, Manjoume. Are you already ok?" The Ra Yellow asked, polite as usual, but with sparkles of relief in his wise, dark eyes.

"Oh? Manjoume? You're well so fast?" A new voice questioned.

It was Ryo who appeared in the hallway. He was calm as always, but he watched the three younger boys with raised eyebrows, his expression unreadable.

That was when Manjoume started looking around in search of his brothers and a TV team. Both surprised and relieved, he only spotted the Duel Academy students who filled the corridor like they did during every school break. And even more luckily, they rather didn't seem to be interested in what was going on right next to them. _Thanks God, I already thought that I'm back to that fucked-up dream again! _Manjoume thought, letting out a small sigh.

Just as he predicted, he was late for his classes, even though he skipped breakfast. He walked into the classroom, immediately drawing everyone's attention when Juudai – only gods know why he wasn't asleep – jumped to his feet with a cheerful "Hey, Manjoume! You're back!". Misawa also stood up, though not as rapidly as the brunette. Asuka sent him a smile and her two friends giggled. Daitokuji-sensei looked at him with surprise and asked whether he felt any better and after receiving an affirmative answer told him to take his seat, and the lesson continued. About an hour later the school bell rang and everyone left for the break. That's when Manjoume has been caught by Juudai.

And now he felt surrounded.

_Perhaps going to school was not a good idea, after all…?_

The bell came to rescue him right in time, making all the students freeze and walk back to the classroom with resignation.

And the black Osiris Red used the occasion to get away form his 'stalkers'.

He took his seat with a sigh of relief when he thought that it was quite distant from both Juudai and Misawa's seats – when he entered the classroom all the places around them were already occupied, which is also why they didn't make it to lay their paws on him earlier.

Girlish giggles made him snap out of his thoughts and involuntarily start overhearing a talk of a group of girls in the row in front of him.

"Now it's your turn, Kasumi!"

"Hihi… Ok, um… so, when I was a little girl, I heard that when you have a fever and someone kisses you, then the fever is gone really fast, but the stronger your bound with this person is, the greater the chance that it'll go over to him."

"Wow, so it's like a kind of a lips-love-exchange-sacrifice! Sweeeeet!" Another girl squealed with excitement.

_Oh, gre__at, girls' idiotic talk about kissing! And what the heck is 'lips-love-exchange-sacrifice'?! Though it could explain my sudden regain of health… but I didn't kiss with anyone!_

"Now you, Minako!" The girl called Kasumi ordered, emitting another few giggles.

"Yup. Well, it's rather a common knowledge, but…. if you drink from the same cup or bottle with someone, then it's as if you kiss him, but through a distance."

Manjoume snorted and rested his head in his hand. Just then Chronos de Mediz walked into the classroom. But he barely managed to make a few steps when his PDA started ringing. He opened the device and his eyes widened suddenly.

"WHAT? Marufuji Ryo has a fever? Hold on, I'll be right there!" And he ran out without a single word of explanation for his students.

Manjoume paled with worry and shock just to blush insanely as the two sentences from 'girls' idiotic talk about kissing' combined in his mind. And as if the world tried to mock him, the same girls suddenly started talking with excitement once more.

"A fever…? Could it be that…?

"Yeah, that is possible. But who…?"

They turned their heads slightly and looked at crimson-red Manjoume.

Okinata: Aaaaaaand... cut! So, how did you like it? I won't write much here, you just tell me what you think about the chapter. Oh, and it might contain some mistakes, I just didn't actually have time to check it, so I'd be really grateful if someone would do it for me... '


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